Why a lot developers regard the DS as a toy?

[jeremysart]

All too often I find myself thinking, "This game could have been a lot better (for the DS), but most companies regard the DS as a kids toy, and would rather not put the time and money into development."

 

Very often you see a cult hit such as The Sim's, which gets ported cross-platform. This franchise is a great example of what I am talking about; Take the Sim's 2 games for the PSP.. they are great games in and of themselves, while looking good and staying true to the original concept. Now look at Sim's 2 for the DS.. its a complete joke! It looks horribly unpolished and jagged, while having absolutely nothing to do with the "Sims" universe.. there is no simulation.. it is an ill-conceived story that you break down at a hotel and have to collect uranium for the hotel furnace to keep them in business. The game is kiddie, and has numerous glitches that sometimes cause the game to freeze.

 

EA is one of the worst offenders, but a lot of big companies push aside any creative or polished development, and pretty much port the "cell phone" version over to the DS.

 

Its a shame, because the DS actually has a lot of untapped potential.

[TwinChargers]

Did Nintendo upset EA at some point between the N64 era and the Gamecube era? It seem around that point they started completely ignoring Nintendo or giving it watered down ports. Apparently its being done to the handhelds also.

[Nesbroslash]

Meh, almost every kid owns one. They might not want to play say, Sonic Rush. But they like monster trucks and have no definition for a crappy game aside from no violence, so they might get Monster Jam. Also, if you're complaining about how the DS gets watered down ports, you should check out CoD Modern Warfare for DS. I heard it's very good for a handheld game.

[jeremysart]

Meh, almost every kid owns one. They might not want to play say, Sonic Rush. But they like monster trucks and have no definition for a crappy game aside from no violence, so they might get Monster Jam. Also, if you're complaining about how the DS gets watered down ports, you should check out CoD Modern Warfare for DS. I heard it's very good for a handheld game.

 

Just ranting in general of the clear lack in devolpment for many DS games, including popular franchises. Most of the good DS games are first party titles (Mario Kart DS is a good example), then there are a hand full of pretty neat puzzlers and brain teasers. Im not a COD kind of guy myself, but I own an R4 for the DS and have played plenty of titles for the system.

 

But also owning the PSP, thought I love Nintendo, its obvious the PSP gets more love when it comes to ports. We'll see if that changes with the 3DS; looks like it has much better hardware this time around.

[Frizo]

Because it is.

No REAL games.

OH LOOK A VIRTUAL DOG.

OH LOOK, A MINIGAME COLLECTION.

OH LOOK, A STORE FILLED WITH MORE MINIGAMES.

 

Compared to PSP, actual games.

I am no Sony Fanboy, I dislike them. They killed SEGA. But Nintendo is a second to me, but it is the truth.

[HammR25]

The DS is marketed to little kids so it's got a bunch of little kid games. Nintendo making most of the good games for a Nintendo system sounds pretty normal.

[godslabrat]

The DS is marketed to little kids so it's got a bunch of little kid games. Nintendo making most of the good games for a Nintendo system sounds pretty normal.

 

Yeah. I'm not fond of the concept, but it's been the rule since the end of the SNES era. It's the way things are.

 

At this point, I'm pretty sure Nintendo could release the most powerful system imaginable, sell it for $49.99, have 100% marketshare, and third parties would still fill it with shovelware because "It's Nintendo."

[Octavio]

I'm personally under the impression that the DS has done a lot better on the market than the PSP, although I am starting to notice that the games for the PSP seem somewhat more interesting.

[Video]

Someone mention call of duty? It's ok graphically, and could have been a decent game, but I'm sorry, using the screen for a virtual joystick simply doesn't work. That's another huge problem with the DS, it has to many tacked on gimmicks and people will try to use them. I honestly think Nintendo has some sort of requirement that at least some of the gimmicks be used. I simply see to many games (that could be great) get ruined because of having some 'feature' half assedly tacked on.

 

Compareing it to the PSP, the PSP is just that much more powerful. The DS isn't a slouch, though you'll be hard pressed on most games to find it in any way better than the GBA that it replaced....but it's not up to the specs of the PSP either, even without unlocking the PSP it's more than 3 times the processor speed. Add to that, it has more sensible controllers built in (though would have, and still would, benefit from a second stick) and none of the damn gimmicks holding it back. Downside of the PSP, due to it being able to push pretty good liknesses of the PS2, to many 'console' games get made on it. Like I said, call of duity for the DS, controlls sucked. The PSP is only marginally better, though it's still a pretty clunky setup for a FPS.

 

Anyhow, over all, mostly kids bought the DS, and most of the games on it are blatantly kiddie games. The PSP is bought more by a more adult crowd, though to be honest, many may be buying it as a media player, it's cheaper than most revisions of Ipod, with a hell of a lot more openendedness.

 

I still have both, I enjoy some of the first party DS stuff, but the PSP sticks with me, cause I can use it to listen to music, watch movies, ebooks, pictures, etc, etc...and it has better third party games (where the DS wins out on first party, but they just don't have enough)

[jeremysart]

Because it is.

No REAL games.

OH LOOK A VIRTUAL DOG.

OH LOOK, A MINIGAME COLLECTION.

OH LOOK, A STORE FILLED WITH MORE MINIGAMES.

 

Compared to PSP, actual games.

I am no Sony Fanboy, I dislike them. They killed SEGA. But Nintendo is a second to me, but it is the truth.

 

See, now that is not true at all. Your missing the entire point. The point was and still is, the massive shovel-ware and kiddie gimmicks could have been avoided IF companies would stop having that exact mind-frame about Nintendo.

 

The DS actually is doing better in sales than the PSP, but that is beside the point, it could definitely have better games if developers were a little more creative, especially for the more casual croud like myself, who do not delve in MMORPG'S, COD, Halo and GTA games.

 

To say the least, first party games aside, there are some other pretty interesting titles on the DS, such as the Ace Attorney games, Lost in Blue, Shin Megami, The World Ends With You, Age of Empire, Nanostray, Trauma Center, Brain Age etc etc.

 

What I am trying to say is not being biased either, because I am not a "fan boy" of any particular company or trademark, as I own pretty much every console in existence and have good games on all of them.

 

Yeah. I'm not fond of the concept, but it's been the rule since the end of the SNES era. It's the way things are.

 

At this point, I'm pretty sure Nintendo could release the most powerful system imaginable, sell it for $49.99, have 100% marketshare, and third parties would still fill it with shovelware because "It's Nintendo."

 

Yes, that is exactly what I am talking about.. that mindframe that third parties have, taking the easy way out instead of putting any sort of effort or creativity into their game development.

Edited October 13, 2010 by jeremysart

[TheLunarFox]

It seems like it's just one of those things it's just too late for. Nintendo has been all about the "casual gamer" market while Sony has been going after the "hardcore gamer". It's all about perception really. So NDS gets some strange "games". (Walking Coach? Stop Smoking Coach? Nintendogs?)

 

I also heartily agree that a lot of games end up getting some strange gimmick tacked on like using the touch screen for controls. I absolutely hate that trick. My boyfriend complained that his hands covered up half the screen when he played Phantom Hourglass, so he doesn't even really want to play Spirit Tracks.

 

 

I really haven't been using my DS to play games for a while. Before I bought a flash cart for it, I didn't use it much at all. Now I use it to read comic books, as an emulator, watching movies, typing, all that. I use it all the time now.

 

 

Also, one fun game for the DS is actually Assassin's Creed II: Discovery. More games like that are needed!

[+atari2600land]

Did Nintendo upset EA at some point between the N64 era and the Gamecube era? It seem around that point they started completely ignoring Nintendo or giving it watered down ports. Apparently its being done to the handhelds also.

I know of at least one good EA game for the DS: Scrabble. OK, so Scrabble is not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy it from time to time.

[Tr3vor]

Because it is.

No REAL games.

OH LOOK A VIRTUAL DOG.

OH LOOK, A MINIGAME COLLECTION.

OH LOOK, A STORE FILLED WITH MORE MINIGAMES.

 

Compared to PSP, actual games.

I am no Sony Fanboy, I dislike them. They killed SEGA. But Nintendo is a second to me, but it is the truth.

 

 

Thats why I don't buy DS games...

 

I'll definately be buying some wii games here pretty quick, 007, kirby, etc.

[OldAtarian]

Did Nintendo upset EA at some point between the N64 era and the Gamecube era? It seem around that point they started completely ignoring Nintendo or giving it watered down ports. Apparently its being done to the handhelds also.

 

Let's see, N64 arrived too late to really challenge Playstation and with an inconvenient and expensive media format as a result they lost all their devs with only Nintendo themselves and Rare supporting the console in the end.

 

Gamecube also lost to PS2 again, with mainly Nintendo themselves supporting the system. The really good third party games, there weren't many of and most of those could also be had on PS2 or XBOX.

 

Wii is just a high powered Gamecube with motion controllers and the game situation for Wii is a virtual wasteland, again, Nintendo's games are ok, a handful of good third party stuff, and the rest (about 90% of the games on store shelves) being crap.

 

The reasons for EA distancing themselves from Nintendo should be readily apparent.

Edited October 14, 2010 by OldAtarian

[godslabrat]

Oops.

Edited October 14, 2010 by godslabrat

[jeremysart]

Did Nintendo upset EA at some point between the N64 era and the Gamecube era? It seem around that point they started completely ignoring Nintendo or giving it watered down ports. Apparently its being done to the handhelds also.

 

Let's see, N64 arrived too late to really challenge Playstation and with an inconvenient and expensive media format as a result they lost all their devs with only Nintendo themselves and Rare supporting the console in the end.

 

Gamecube also lost to PS2 again, with mainly Nintendo themselves supporting the system. The really good third party games, there weren't many of and most of those could also be had on PS2 or XBOX.

 

Wii is just a high powered Gamecube with motion controllers and the game situation for Wii is a virtual wasteland, again, Nintendo's games are ok, a handful of good third party stuff, and the rest (about 90% of the games on store shelves) being crap.

 

The reasons for EA distancing themselves from Nintendo should be readily apparent.

 

 

I agree with you for the most part, but I am not so sure if I would really call it "losing" to Sony per say, when sales and love for Nintendo have never been bad. Also, though there is admittedly an ass load of shovel wear for the Wii, there are actually a LOT of good games for the system! 70% of them are 1st party, but thats besides the point I guess. My library consists of a few Playstation games, a decent collection of 360, and a whole lot of Wii games.

[godslabrat]

Did Nintendo upset EA at some point between the N64 era and the Gamecube era? It seem around that point they started completely ignoring Nintendo or giving it watered down ports. Apparently its being done to the handhelds also.

 

Let's see, N64 arrived too late to really challenge Playstation and with an inconvenient and expensive media format as a result they lost all their devs with only Nintendo themselves and Rare supporting the console in the end.

 

Gamecube also lost to PS2 again, with mainly Nintendo themselves supporting the system. The really good third party games, there weren't many of and most of those could also be had on PS2 or XBOX.

 

Wii is just a high powered Gamecube with motion controllers and the game situation for Wii is a virtual wasteland, again, Nintendo's games are ok, a handful of good third party stuff, and the rest (about 90% of the games on store shelves) being crap.

 

The reasons for EA distancing themselves from Nintendo should be readily apparent.

 

 

I agree with you for the most part, but I am not so sure if I would really call it "losing" to Sony per say, when sales and love for Nintendo have never been bad. Also, though there is admittedly an ass load of shovel wear for the Wii, there are actually a LOT of good games for the system! 70% of them are 1st party, but thats besides the point I guess. My library consists of a few Playstation games, a decent collection of 360, and a whole lot of Wii games.

 

If EA can snub Nintendo because of Nintendo's poor choices in the previous generations, then EA should be smart enough to bring their A-game to the Wii.

[OldAtarian]

Most of Nintendo's own games, though are geared to little kids and always have been. Most of the big publishers cater to the more hardcore. I wouldn't have a Wii at all if the women didn't love it so much. Best $200 you can invest in boosting your love life, IMO.

Edited October 18, 2010 by OldAtarian

[liveinabin]

Nintendogs was awesome.

 

I often wonder whether Nintendos repeated use of underpowered hardware is what leads to the lack of serious support. It's certainly biting them on the ass this time. Or maybe it's just their attitude.

Not that they're doing badly, of course, but it seems that Nintendo systems are just for Nintendo games.

Edited October 18, 2010 by liveinabin

[Hatta]

Um, of course it's a toy. All video game consoles are toys. Whenever you play a video game, you are playing with a toy.

[Tr3vor]

Um, of course it's a toy. All video game consoles are toys. Whenever you play a video game, you are playing with a toy.

 

Does that mean that computers are toys too?

Consoles are computers, you know...

[TwinChargers]

I often wonder whether Nintendos repeated use of underpowered hardware is what leads to the lack of serious support. It's certainly biting them on the ass this time.

 

Is the Nintendo DS significantly underpowered compared to the PSP? I honestly don't know since I don't own either. It not like the PSP is a 3rd party juggernaut itself.

 

You'd think EA and other developers would cater more to Nintendo despite not being the most technologically advanced, but for the user base there consoles have this generation alone.

[Video]

Um, of course it's a toy. All video game consoles are toys. Whenever you play a video game, you are playing with a toy.

 

Does that mean that computers are toys too?

Consoles are computers, you know...

 

Not exactly. Consoles are computers, but computers aren't necessarily consoles. And lots of people use computers for other things besides playing games. Consoles are trying to get there, but to be honest, they don't really want it.

 

I often wonder whether Nintendos repeated use of underpowered hardware is what leads to the lack of serious support. It's certainly biting them on the ass this time.

 

Is the Nintendo DS significantly underpowered compared to the PSP? I honestly don't know since I don't own either. It not like the PSP is a 3rd party juggernaut itself.

 

You'd think EA and other developers would cater more to Nintendo despite not being the most technologically advanced, but for the user base there consoles have this generation alone.

 

I don't know specs wise, but I think just processor speed alone, isn't the DS something like 95 ish MHZ while the PSP is 222 mhz? I won't swear to that, but I do see it in games, even like games (take a Need for Speed racing game and the difference is clear)

 

I like them both to some extent, but nowhere near as much as I loved the GBA, part of that is the gimmicks, the other part is trying to be a big boy console when the thing isn't.